JJ Virgin's Sugar Impact Diet

On today's era where fat is deemed chubby and obese seems cute and funny, this a book which will try to change all that.This book is both an eye opener and an instruction manual for many of us which is very conscious of our health and our looks. We won't separate the two because this book many times told us that good health equals good looks.I am a gym instructor, highly motivated, healthy eater and for most of my life I seem to know what is and what is not the "right" food. This book opens me to the fallacy and the facade those "right" foods gave me. I haven't fully realized that I was on a long plateau of my health plan. Never did I realize that I can be better, feel better and look better. Many things here reminded me of those things that are pretty basic but is often overlooked like the necessity and benefits of water for our bodies. Still many from this book are new for me and I am honestly surprised to know many things from them.So many health oriented books, diet instruction books and "be fit" books out there but never will they oust this one. The author wrote a "technical" book without showing how technical the subject is. She used humor, light phrases and common terms but still manage to retain the seriousness of the topic. I like the way she titled each topic and like the way she gives a link or cross refer many topics in her book. I love the simple way she shows how to "calculate" our food and love the way she shows us the top10 best and worst of things in this book.Normally a health oriented book are plain and simple instruction book fitted with so many pictures. This one didn't enrich itself with images but with explanations and showcases of successful practitioners. A very unique way of handling such hard and "sensitive" topic. Kudos to the author and good luck to all.

I thought this book was really easy to read, and is not boring at all. There is a lot of interesting information in it, and it has really changed the way I look at sugar. As soon as I finished reading the first half of the book, the same day I received it, I immediately went online and bought a copy for my friend and had it sent to her. It's just really impactful, it makes you realize that sugar is not just about calories, it affects your health in so many ways. Before, I would try to eat less than 1000 calories a day, just so I could have a couple hundred calories left over by the end of the day to have some ice cream or another treat. And my weight loss was completely stalled. After I read this book, and started listening to her podcasts, I'm looking at my health in a whole new light, and have even lost 1 inch from my waist in the past couple of weeks, even though I'm eating a lot and am almost never hungry anymore. Also, more importantly, my late afternoon fatigue has gone away and my skin has cleared up. Basically, she has you on a plan where you gradually reduce your sugar intake in 2 cycles. You also give up soy, gluten, non-fat dairy and artificial sweeteners. But, on the plus side, you don't have to give up coffee, or carbs, and in fact you're encouraged to eat low-sugar carbs like lentils and quinoa or wild rice. I really hope to stick to this plan for a lifetime, it brought my attention to all the hidden sugars in my diet, and has changed the way I think about sugar.

Reading a review of this book, I realized I was one of those "sugar addicts" JJ talked about, so I ordered the book, went on the plan, and lost 30 pounds (157 to 127) over a period of 7 months. I did no exercise to speak of. JJ recommends 1/2 cup portions of most things on your plate, but since I'm 75 years old and relatively inactive, I found it worked better for me to eat less than she recommended. I got to stop one of my 2 blood pressure meds because of the wright loss. In addition, I have more energy and I no longer have to feel guilty about what I'm eating.So why 4 stars instead of 5? Because I'm reviewing the book, not the diet. The book is not as well organized as I think it could be. I found it complicated. In addition, I didn't find anything in the book that was specifically for the elderly. I figured out by myself that the 1/2 cup portions were consistently too large for me, and it was only when I switched to smaller portions that my weight loss began.

I am all Primal... except as time went by I hit the sugar a little more and a little more (starting with dark chocolate). Soon I was back to craving sugar. Then I found myself eating all day when I tried to give it up and gaining some weight. I felt out of control.I took the plunge and bought this book because I knew sugar was the culprit. I am halfway through the book but started keeping track of my sugar right away and kept it below 25g perday. I have been feeling a bit tired and sometimes woozy(as I transition back to being a fat burner instead of a sugar burner), but overall, I feel great. The biggest shock was that by keeping my carbs under 100g and my sugar under 25g, I am not hungry and feel a lot better. When I cut down earlier to lose some weight but didn't pay attention to sugar levels, I got really hungry and irritable.I guess keeping sugar low keeps hunger/cravings away because it is working for me.What is great is that I will have a tool for the rest of my life if I fall back into old habits and allow the weight to creep up again. I can imagine not doing that with how good I am feeling right now.The only problem I have had and it has frustrated me, is that the resources link with seemingly lots of resources, doesn't work for me. I sent my email in many times but never got a reply with the resources link. If it gets fixed, I will come back and update you so you will know how to fix it too.